How are you this week? I wanted to talk about a programme that I have watched on Netflix called the Social Dilemma. It planted a seed in my head and I thought this is the perfect place to share in the off chance it may help you.

After watching this programme, I began to really notice the need to be constantly checking my phone and scrolling, but when doing this I would start to get this feeling of being overwhelmed, and it wasn’t until I watched this programme that it all began to click.

Social Dilemma

So, at the weekend I took my kids to their swimming lesson and I purposely left my phone in my bag after watching the Social Dilemma. It was so interesting to watch. If you’ve not seen it, it’s all about our society and how we’ve become addicted to scrolling and the constant need to be on our phones. 

Now, I will hold my hands up here and as they say, I am addicted to my phone. I hate saying it out loud but it needs to be said. As I was watching, I was thinking, yep that is me. I am addicted. 

With all this in my mind, when I took the kids swimming I made a conscious effort to leave my phone in my bag and just be in the moment. To sit, watch and enjoy the experience with my children. And whilst sat there I was looking around and I noticed that there were only two people out of about 30 that weren’t using their phones.

A Realisation

It was such a realisation to me. We are all addicted. Even the other day, I turned my phone off and I was still constantly clicking my phone to check it. 

But it got me thinking, how much time are we wasting on pointless scrolling on our phones? We are all busy and have so much to get done and I for one could feel this obsession get out of control. 

A while ago, I took Facebook off my phone as it was such a distraction. I remember feeling that it was such a big decision as a lot of my work is done through Facebook, but what happened was once I took it off I made sure I had dedicated time each day to look at my communities and feeds that I need to on my computer. This then became a much more focused task. 

So I want to share with you my plan, going forward as to how I am going to manage this to keep on top of this phone addiction.

Step One

Now, I’ve done this for a while and it’s so useful but a nightmare to do. However, that being said once you’ve done it, it’s a game changer. It was a tip I was given by a lovely lady called Sky Barber who runs a community about leadership and taking control of your time. The first task was to track your time. I’ll be honest, I really didn’t enjoy the process but found it very interesting to see where my time was going.

Quite often we convince ourselves that we don’t have enough time to get everything done, but in actual fact we could be wasting our time doing things that don’t necessarily need doing. When you start to look at your 24 hours, think where is it going? 

It’s such an eye opener and from this you can start to create new habits to make time for the important things and things you want and need to do. 

Step Two

If you are finding you are habitually going to your phone and checking for notifications and looking to scroll, this may be a good one for you. When you get the need or the feeling to get your phone, swap it for a reading book or sketchbook. Carry them around with you so you’ve got an alternative.

Use that time to capture something you see that is inspiring, or practise some mindfulness like Zentangle. Just sitting and doing rather than scrolling. 

Step Three

Limits. So I now limit the amount of people I follow and use social media positively. I then in turn make sure my social media platforms are full of positivity and giving back.

I make sure I choose and consume three people that are going to uplift my world, encourage me and fill my world with positivity and niceness. I am always following these three people. I then have my own groups that I put all my energy into. 

It’s using social media for my benefit in a streamlined manner and using these rules allow me to stay in control.

Round Up
  • Check your time and block sections out.  
  • Find different ways to destress habitual habits. 
  • Carry your sketchbook or book when you have that time to sit.
  • Turn your phone off from time to time and make sure you set limits to avoid the overwhelm. 

Try and make your experience with social media and phone as positive as possible. Using your phone, watching TV, these are bad things. It’s all about becoming mindful of the time we have and the time we are wasting by pointless scrolling and obsessing. It will only benefit you in the long run. 

Much love, 
Michelle x